Signs of Contradiction

By R. A. Herrera

Details

Orestes Brownson is a new study of a major American intellectual whose work spanned a critical period of American and European history and remains topical (feminism, race, immigration, church and state, national unity, etc.) in our own age. Indeed, the questions raised by Brownson in the nineteenth century still confront us. Brownson argued that the American Republic's unique charter is to reconcile liberty with lawand in so doing to set an example to the world. His thought is reentering American political discourse, making this a timely volume.

Additional Information

Format

Cloth

Pages

253

Publisher

ISI Books

What They're Saying...

"[A] charming portrait…"—The Wall Street Journal

"Orestes Brownson is admirably concise and clearly written.... it succeeds in introducing Brownson's life and ideas to a new generation of general readers interested in the history of American Catholic thought. Herrera capably surveys the major aspects of Brownson's labyrinthine career.... [H]e performs the admirable service of positioning the irascible and mercurial Brownson accurately with relation to his more liberal peers. Even more crucially, Herrera's sensitivity to the puzzling shifts and intellectual contradictions within Brownson's critical oeuvre highlights the paradox-registered by succeeding generations of American Catholics—of reconciling faith and culture."—ForeWord

"Brownson had a lot to say about every intellectual fad of the century.... His off-the-cuff remarks and sudden shrewd digressions, often crackling with spite, are still fun to read, even when he is quite wrong. R. A. Herrera is an American Catholic dismayed at the current direction of his country and his Church.... He ends this short and lively introduction to Brownson's neglected wisdom by making large claims for its continuing relevance."—Times Literary Supplement

"[Orestes Brownson] was perhaps the most significant Catholic apologist in American history, an opponent of the secularized socialist culture he felt had been building throughout modern times, and a genuine American original.... One strength of...Orestes Brownson: Sign of Contradiction, is its concise overview of Brownson's literary career."—The Weekly Standard

"[A] well-researched biography…"—National Catholic Register

"R. A. Herrera tells a lively story in a lively manner…"—First Things

"Herrera has written a fine introduction to [Brownson's] thought, and one of Herrera's virtues is that he, unlike other recent writers, is wiling to look squarely at Brownson's shortcomings."—New Oxford Review

"Orestes Brownson is a superb literary and political biography of a fascinating man who lived in interesting times."—Wisconsin Bookwatch

"R. A. Herrera's brief survey of Brownson's writings…provides a solid introduction to the work of this important Catholic thinker."—Crisis